Hello all,

I am a Manchester resident and an advocate for ADU's in the city. In January 2018, my partner Liz and I bought our home in the city. It is a beautiful 1,400 square foot blue and white (100-year old) house with a detached 2-car garage with a bonus room over the garage. We bought the house with an interest in turning the 380 square foot space over the garage into a studio apartment ADU to help offset the cost of the mortgage.

When approaching the city's community development office, I was intimidated by the process of seeking approvals as I knew detached ADUs were not an as-of-right use for my property (nor any property in the city). The city staff informed me I would need to have a hearing before the Planning Board for a "Conditional Use Permit" for an ADU. The city currently does not allow detached ADU which meant I would need to request a variance. In discussing the variance further with community development staff, it quickly became apparent it would not be an easy or linear task to obtain an approval for a detached ADU.

With potential costs of an approval mounting (Over $5,000), I became concerned I would not be able to successfully obtain approvals from the planning board. This took me by surprise, I had decent experience working on land development projects and standing before planning boards. I anticipated that my skills in architecture combined with my experience as a project manager would allow me to confidently approach the planning board with my variance request and move forward with a permitted detached ADU. My failure to achieve this outcome compelled me to better understand the nuance of the city's land use regulations and regulatory process in order to assure I could act as an advocate on behalf of others who seek to go before the Planning Board to obtain an ADU "Conditional Use" approval.

There is a lot to the ADU approval process but, when equipped with the right information Manchester homeowners should be able to achieve their goals without being overwhelmed by the approval and permitting process. There is a lot more to this story and I would be happy to share my experience with anyone interested in learning more.

I look forward to hearing your stories as well. I want to hear from residents that are just starting out or are downsizing to learn what inspires them to consider building an ADU. I want to hear the success stories and also the failures that are driving the conversation about ADUs today.

Please take a moment while you are here to tell us what draws you to ADUs.

Sincerely,

Manchester Resident, James M Vayo